Malinga, 35, performed his final take a look at in 2010 however continued taking part in the shorter codecs and has taken 335 wickets from 225 one-day internationals for Sri Lanka, the third highest for the island nation behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.

“He’s going to play the primary match,” Karunaratne advised reporters. “After that he’s retiring. That’s what he advised me.”

The paceman with blond-tinted hair and the distinctive slingshot motion has beforehand stated he would retire from worldwide cricket following subsequent 12 months’s World Twenty20 in Australia.

Since his 2004 debut towards United Arab Emirates, Malinga has been a formidable bowler in restricted overs cricket together with his capability to execute toe-crushing yorkers at will, particularly within the loss of life overs.

Whereas the tempo has undoubtedly dropped through the years, the previous captain was nonetheless Sri Lanka’s most profitable bowler on the latest World Cup in England with 13 wickets from seven outings to complete third within the checklist of most profitable bowlers within the historical past of the World Cup with 56 wickets.

He has additionally taken three ODI hat-tricks and is the one participant to have achieved the milestone twice throughout a World Cup.